CENTRAL AREA. Booming business center supercharged by residential growth

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1 Chicago Neighborhoods 2015: Assets, Plans and Trends A project of The Chicago Community Trust CENTRAL AREA Booming business center supercharged by residential growth Chicago s Central Area has undergone transformational changes over the last 40 years as the region s commercial core has added thousands of new homes, high-rise university campuses, and regional recreational attractions. The central city is booming, attracting new residents, new businesses, and thousands of new jobs. It is by far the biggest and most powerful economic driver of the city and the region. The Central Area has become a place to live, not just on the Near North and Near South Sides, but in every quadrant including the Loop. There have always been pockets of highincome residents on the Gold Coast and Prairie Avenue, but in the 1970s the central city was home mostly for lowerincome families in housing projects and individuals living in Single Room Occupancy hotels. Today, the 131,000 centralcity residents are a diverse mix of homeowners, high-rise renters, college students, families, and empty nesters. Their presence has helped fuel massive reinvestment in the central city, from transit infrastructure to the lakefront park system, where the wildly successful Millennium Park is getting three new neighbors: Maggie Daley Park with its ice-skating ribbon and enormous playground, a skateboard park in Grant Park, and peaceful natural habitats on Northerly Island. Source: Calculations by Institute for Housing Studies at DePaul University using 2010 Decennial Census. Nobody has done a full tally of investments recently completed or underway in the Central Area, but they undoubtedly total in the tens of billions of dollars, including a pipeline of 6,400 new residential units; a dozen hotel projects; clusters of new office towers at Wolf Point and elsewhere; McCormick

2 Place expansion; and construction of transit stations. Along with new corporate headquarters, the central city is attracting digital technology businesses, filling huge spaces in the Merchandise Mart, former Montgomery Ward catalog complex, Sullivan Center on State Street, and loft buildings in River North. Filled with college students, theater-goers, and more tourists than ever before, the Central Area is also upping its game in the eat-and-drink department, offering everything from sleek hotel bars and fancy restaurants to vegan fare and food trucks. Steady evolution Today s investments follow decades of incremental change that began in the 1960s, when the Loop was not healthy at all. On State Street, department stores were moving out, theaters were closing, and porn shops were taking space in empty South Loop corridors. Helping hold the center were the 1964 construction of Bertrand Goldberg s Marina City as a self-contained residential community, the 1968 opening of the John Hancock Center on North Michigan Avenue, and the 1973 debut of the Sears (now Willis) Tower as the world s tallest building. But downtown Chicago was in the same situation as so many other Rust Belt cities. It was built for an earlier era and struggling to adapt. CENTRAL AREA OVER TIME Population 83,887 80,869 81,636 98, ,157 Share of population in poverty 24.0% 26.4% 22.2% 16.4% 13.5% Percent owner-occupied/renter occupied 6/94 25/75 29/71 42/58 45/55 Sources: Calculations by Institute for Housing Studies at DePaul University using U.S. Census data from US2010 Project at Brown University. Chicago adapted. Not dependent on a single industry like so many other cities, Chicago weathered the decline thanks in part to strategic investments by corporations, developers, and city officials, all designed to buttress the core economy and the half-million jobs it supported. The next step was pivotal: conversion of downtown into a place to live. First came conversions of vacant industrial lofts in Printers Row, starting in the early 1980s, which ultimately produced 1,260 apartments and condos on Dearborn south of Congress Parkway. At the same time, civic leaders and developers engineered the creation of the Dearborn Park community on vacant railyards south of the Dearborn Station clock tower. With financial backing of the city s top corporations, they produced phase after phase of red-brick townhouses, high-rises, senior housing, and single-family homes, all Chicago Neighborhoods 2015 Summary of Assets Central Area February 2015 Page 2

3 within a subtly designed fortress that walled off the harsher realities on South State Street and beyond. By 1989, about 9,500 mostly middleincome residents lived in Dearborn Park, Printers Row, and nearby developments, as reported by journalist Lois Wille in her book, At Home in the Loop. A survey estimated the residents were 54 percent white, 40 percent African American, and 6 percent Asian and Latino. That was the start of a 30-year virtuous cycle as vacant railyards, factory districts, and then public housing developments were reclaimed for mixedincome or high-income housing and other uses. South of Roosevelt Road, private developers extended Dearborn Park to 16th Street, while a different team built the $3 billion Central Station neighborhood on 80 acres of Illinois Central land just west of Lake Shore Drive. This reconnected downtown not only to the 19th Century mansions of Prairie Avenue, but to the Museum Campus on the lakefront, the historic Motor Row on Wabash, and the area now being recast as the McCormick Place entertainment district. More condos and townhouses sprang up in a former auto-parts district at 19th and State Streets, and to the west on the edge of Chinatown. EMPLOYMENT CENTRAL AREA District Citywide Unemployment rate % 12.9% Top six employment sectors (# jobs) Professional, Scientific, Technical Services 88, ,900 Finance and Insurance 82,135 78,209 Educational Services 14,735 75,645 Accommodation and Food Services 38,915 48,626 Admin, Support, Waste Mgmt, Remediation 33,918 41,077 Public Administration 26,455 38,516 Total # private-sector jobs in district 447, ,858 Sources: Calculations by Institute for Housing Studies at DePaul University using Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics data (top sectors) and 2012 Five-Year American Community Survey (unemployment). Similar growth was taking place up north, first with the addition of residential lofts and art galleries in River North, then new high rises on the Gold Coast and in Streeterville, and finally as old factories and vacant lots east of Michigan Avenue were re-populated with residential high-rises and pricy townhouses. There were pauses when the market stalled, such as in the 1990s when the current Illinois East development served temporarily as a nine-hole golf course, and again when demand for condominiums evaporated after the housing bust of Now, Illinois East is filling up with high-rises and townhouses, and has enough families that the private Gems World Academy has opened a highrise school and is building a second tower to serve high school students. The condo market hasn t yet rebounded, but upmarket rental units are being built by the thousands. Chicago Neighborhoods 2015 Summary of Assets Central Area February 2015 Page 3

4 The most recent change has been in the Loop itself, as Class C office buildings have been converted to residential uses alongside modern residential high-rises, some with views of Millennium Park. About 15,000 of those now living in the central core are college students, many in dormitories developed and managed by DePaul, Roosevelt, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, East-West University, and Columbia College. Private developers are also building dorms, including the 111-unit conversion of the Old Colony Building, 407 S. Dearborn, which began in late A study that year by the Chicago Loop Alliance estimated that 22 colleges and universities in the Central Area served 58,000 students and supported 14,000 employees. Their economic impact on the Loop alone: about $174 million in Beyond residential With 50,000 more residents than in 1990, and thousands more expected to fill the new units under construction, the Central Area has evolved well beyond the nine-to-five environment that once Chicago Neighborhoods 2015 Summary of Assets Central Area February 2015 Page 4

5 prevailed. Retail and grocery stores, once few and far between, are now tucked into existing buildings and splayed out in mini-malls along Roosevelt Road, Clybourn, Division, Halsted, and State. Residential and retail uses are intertwined with employment centers, creating unique districts on every side of the Loop, each with its own challenges and opportunities. Streeterville medical district With the 2012 addition of Lurie Children s Hospital, alongside the Northwestern Memorial Hospital campus and the expanding Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Streeterville now supports 66,500 jobs and 29,000 residents, according to the 2014 Streeterville Neighborhood Plan. Adjacent to Navy Pier, the area is straining under heavy pedestrian, transit, and automobile loads; the Chicago Department of Transportation will lay out improvement options in its 2015 River North Streeterville Transit Study. Placemaking, environmental improvements, and preservation of historic structures, along with transportation, are priorities outlined in the Streeterville neighborhood plan. Roosevelt Road corridor Land alongside the raised Roosevelt Road bridge between State Street and the Dan Ryan Expressway has been built up with big-box shopping centers, the Roosevelt Collection residential and shopping development, and a Target store. Just north of Roosevelt, the private British School of Chicago in 2015 will open its new 1,000-student preschool-to-12th-grade facility. East of State Street, new separated bike lanes and wider sidewalks are being added to provide safer connections to the Museum Campus. West Loop Presidential Towers was the first of many residential developments on what had been Chicago s Skid Row, adding 2,347 rental units in four towers. Office high-rises, loft conversions, retail, and corporate facilities have followed, drawn in part by immediate access to Ogilvie and Union stations. Two 2015 projects to speed access to and from those stations are the Central Loop Bus Rapid Transit system, linking the stations to Michigan Avenue and Navy Pier, and the Union Station Transportation Center, which will provide off-street bus boarding and underground access to the rail platforms. The 2012 Chicago Union Station Master Plan Study calls for platform and access improvements to boost capacity for Metra and Amtrak. River North Once a jumble of parking lots and half-empty loft buildings, the area north of the river and west of State Street has incorporated a restaurant and entertainment district amidst Chicago Neighborhoods 2015 Summary of Assets Central Area February 2015 Page 5

6 dozens of glassy residential buildings. Merchandise Mart has become Chicago s high-tech hub, home to Motorola Mobility and the 1871 incubator, with many other tech businesses nearby. Three new high-rises are under construction at the river s bend: Wolf Point West, a 500-unit apartment building; 150 N. Riverside, a 53-story office building; and River Point, a 52-story office tower that will include a river walk and park. North and Clybourn Like Roosevelt Road, the North and Clybourn shopping district has become a regional attraction, jamming the local streets with cars and shoppers going to the Apple Store, Whole Foods, Crate and Barrel, and home-furnishings stores. The New City development along Clybourn east of Halsted will add a Mariano s, Dick s Sporting Goods, 14- screen theater complex, bowling alley, and 200 residential units. Goose Island Goose Island was losing jobs and companies in the 1980s when local manufacturers and economic development activists rallied to create Chicago s first Protected Manufacturing District. The close-in location proved out as new facilities were built and others rehabbed; now Goose Island and surrounding areas support 100 businesses and 5,000 jobs, including the Wrigley Innovation Center. Kendall College runs its hospitality and culinary-arts programs on the island; South Street Capital is building or rehabbing 600,000 square feet of new tech space; and the Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute will open in the former Republic Windows plant in All this is in addition to continued investment in the central corridors. Once-struggling State Street now has few vacancies; even the long-troubled Block 37 mall is filling up, adding a dine-in theater complex, new restaurants, and a 690-apartment tower. Activity along North Michigan Avenue s Magnificent Mile has been strong enough to push development south of the river, where boutique hotels and tourist stores face Millennium Park. Convention and tourism numbers are at an all-time high, exceeding 48 million in 2013, pouring fuel on the hotel boom and boding well for the 2015 debut of the Chicago Riverwalk and new lakefront parks. Chicago Neighborhoods 2015 Summary of Assets Central Area February 2015 Page 6

7 Challenges and opportunities With a 31 percent share of workers walking to work and 27 percent more arriving by public transit, the Central Area is the most pedestrian-oriented part of the region, creating a dense and lively environment of workers, shoppers, tourists, students, and families. More even than before, the central city is a mixed economy, with a dozen drivers from government and finance to tech and tourism. The Central Area s core challenge is to extend and leverage today s growth as much as possible and as widely as possible while avoiding potential consequences such as unmanageable traffic congestion or high costs that make the area unaffordable for residents, merchants, or workers. Here are four opportunities to extend the gains: Mixed-income communities already exist and could be expanded on either end of the Central Area as the Chicago Housing Authority redevelops the former Cabrini-Green site on the Near North Side and the Harold Ickes development at Cermak Road. Options for the Cabrini site are outlined in two plans, the CHA s 2014 Cabrini Green Draft Redevelopment Zone Plan and the forthcoming 2015 Near North Quality-of-Life Plan. The area now includes new mixed-income housing including 434 public housing units, a new Jesse White Tumbling Center, and 438 vacant units in the Cabrini rowhouses, whose redevelopment is controlled by a court consent decree. CHA plans more mixed-income developments on large vacant parcels it controls. Also in the area is the 307-unit Atrium Village at Division and Wells, whose careful economic and racial integration in the 1970s set a high standard for similar developments; a city-approved redevelopment plan for the aging complex calls for up to 1,500 units, with 20 percent reserved as affordable. On the south, the CHA in late 2014 issued a request for proposals for the 11.3-acre Ickes site on the southwest corner of Cermak and State. The RFP sought proposals for a mixed retail and housing development with at least 200 public housing units as well as affordable and market-rate housing; the usual CHA mix is one third in each category. The site is one-half block from the CTA Green Line s new Cermak station, which will open in Chicago Neighborhoods 2015 Summary of Assets Central Area February 2015 Page 7

8 Transportation improvements are critical to support further growth in central city jobs and population. Numerous studies have called for faster circulation from the Metra stations to Michigan Avenue, Streeterville, the Museum Campus, and other locations. The Central Loop Bus Rapid Transit project, under construction in 2015, will partially address this need, while a mayoral task force prepares transit recommendations to serve the Museum Campus and proposed Lucas Museum. Other priorities include expanded capacity at Union Station; on the Red Line, which is at capacity during rush periods; and on lakefront express bus routes. CTA stations downtown serve 220,000 boarding passengers per weekday; Metra serves about 124,000 (see transit ridership charts at end of section). Public schools in the Central Area have not kept pace with residential development, offering little choice in terms of neighborhood schools that admit all students living in the attendance area. The Central Area has very strong private schools (Francis Parker, Xavier Warde, British School, Latin School) and selective-enrollment high schools (Payton, Jones), but few high-performing neighborhood elementary schools. This is a longstanding barrier to maintaining economic and racial diversity in the central city. Finally, digital technology. Chicago has rapidly evolved as a center of software firms and data centers; the new Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute offers new potential for growth. The institute began work in late 2014 with more than 30 academic partners and 40 corporate supporters including Caterpillar, John Deere, Boeing, Siemens, GE, and Dow. With $320 million in startup commitments from the federal government and other partners, the institute could position Chicago as a national center for new manufacturing technologies, and create spinoff benefits in nearby industrial corridors. The city s heritage as an industrial and railroad behemoth has already fueled 40 years of growth in the central area. Much more opportunity exists. The enormous Main Post Office over the Eisenhower Expressway (I-290), vacant for 18 years, was put up for sale in December Sixty-two acres of empty railyard are just south of Roosevelt along the South Branch, and will be served by the planned Wentworth Avenue Extension. More land is available on either side of Bertrand Goldberg s River City Chicago Neighborhoods 2015 Summary of Assets Central Area February 2015 Page 8

9 development on the South Branch. On the North Branch, the Chicago Tribune plans redevelopment of seven acres next to its printing plant. The 2003 Chicago Central Area Plan suggests decking over the Kennedy Expressway (I-90/94) between Monroe and Washington, which would create new park space and spur high-density development nearby. As transit capacity is improved, much more can be done on land now dedicated to surface parking lots and other low-value uses. Always the city and region s economic engine, the Central Area remains a powerful driver of change, with its full potential not yet realized. Coordinated and context-sensitive efforts by civic leaders, government agencies, neighborhood groups, and private developers will be key to building a better, stronger central city. Source: Easy Analytic Software, Inc., updated January 2014, as displayed on Woodstock Institute Data Portal. Examples of development opportunities Place Location Status Notes Rail land south of Roosevelt Main post office Bounded by Roosevelt, 16th, Clark, and Chicago River. Over the Eisenhower Expressway west of the Chicago River. City of Chicago in 2014 approved acquisition of this parcel for redevelopment. Former owner put the property up for sale in late 2014; has been vacant for 18 years. City is soliciting interest from developers; the planned Wentworth Connector project will create access via Wentworth through middle of site. Very large site will require major investment and multiple uses. Chicago Neighborhoods 2015 Summary of Assets Central Area February 2015 Page 9

10 Surface parking lots East of Chicago River South Branch, adjacent to River City Multiple locations in West Loop, River North, South Loop. West of Wells Street, south of Van Buren Many of these properties generate revenue with parking while awaiting development opportunities. Properties have been vacant since before construction of River City in mid-1980s. Condominium developer CMK Companies purchased 1.8 acre site south of River City in late CTA Central Area Ridership (weekday boardings, year-end averages, 2009 and 2013*) Red Line Cermak Clark/ North/ Roosevelt Harrison Jackson Monroe Lake Grand Chicago Chinatown Division Clybourn ,414 9,547 3,316 11,760 9,593 15,827 9,149 13,440 7,025 4, ,428* 11,739 4,199 10,932 10,141 18,372 10,763 15,085 7,468 5,707 Washington/ Wells Quincy/ Wells LaSalle/ VanBuren Loop (Orange, Pink, Green, Brown, Purple Lines) Harold Adams/ Madison/ Washington Wabash Wabash Library Randolph/ Wabash State/ Lake ,845 7,326 3,092 4,126 7,757 5,683 6,956 9,043 18, ,481 7,978 2,933 4,148 7,205 7,027 7,330 9,806 19,260 Clark/ Lake Blue Line Brown Line Grand Washington Monroe Jackson LaSalle Clinton Merchandise Mart Chicago Sedgwick ,768 7,125 5,746 7,427 2,648 2,737 5,859 5,121 3, ,501 10,504 7,314 8,267 3,027 3,462 6,908 6,757 3,900 Source: Chicago Transit Authority Annual Ridership Reports. * South Red Line reconstruction in 2013 shifted ridership to the Green Line and buses, creating variance in normal ridership patterns. Cermak Chinatown ridership is from 2012 rather than 2013 because that station was closed for five months during reconstruction. Chicago Neighborhoods 2015 Summary of Assets Central Area February 2015 Page 10

11 Metra Central Area Ridership (weekday boardings, 2006 and 2014*) Union Ogilvie LaSalle Millennium Museum McCormick Van Buren 18th St. Station Station Station Station Campus Place ,388 37,564 17,026 13,152 4, ,422 39,553 13,239 10,353 3, Source: Metra Commuter Rail System Station Alighting/Boarding Count, Summary Results, Spring Note: 2014 ridership was counted in the spring, versus fall counts in 2006, and thus reflects a roughly 5 percent lower, seasonal ridership level. Any greater variance than -5% is likely reflective of changes in population, employment, usage, and other factors. Important aspects of Central Area growth could not be adequately covered here, but are referenced in other narratives in this series: the Near West Side, which includes the Greektown and Fulton Innovation districts; Lincoln Park Lakeview, which touches on Old Town and the riverfront at North and Clybourn; Stockyards, which discusses the expansion of Chinatown into surrounding neighborhoods; and Bronzeville South Lakefront, which includes the areas from McCormick Place south. Data note: Demographic and other data is compiled by Chicago Community Area, which may differ slightly from the boundaries of the CN2015 s. Community Areas included in this profile are Central Area, Near South Side, and Near North Side. Research support for Chicago Neighborhoods 2015: Assets, Plans and Trends was provided by a team convened by The Chicago Community Trust. The summary of assets for this planning district was created by LISC Chicago and Teska Associates with materials from Metropolitan Planning Council, Place Consulting, Institute for Housing Studies at DePaul University, and many other sources. Author: Patrick Barry. Learn more about the Central Area and Chicago Neighborhoods 2015 at cct.org/cn2015/centralarea. Learn more about data and sources at cct.org/cn2015/datasources. Chicago Neighborhoods 2015 Summary of Assets Central Area February 2015 Page 11

12 CENTRAL PLANNING DISTRICT ASSET MAP CHICAGO NEIGHBORHOODS 2015 DIVISION Clark/Division 18TH Gold Coast Seward Park Jenner ES Payton Prep HS Salazar ES Moody Bible Institute Ogden ES St. Joseph MS NEAR NORTH SIDE See Milwaukee Ave North Michigan Avenue Water Tower John Hancock Center Museum of Contemporary Art Water Tower Place Water Works Le Cordon Bleu Francis Cabrini Row Homes CHICAGO Loyola University Chicago Chicago Groupon Rehabilitation Institute Lurie Children's Hospital Northwestern Memorial Driehaus Museum STATE River North Gallery District Grand Jardine Water Plant 41 Magnificent Mile Navy Pier Chicago Children's Museum Grand GRAND U of C Gleacher Center Google KINZIE Tribune Tower Museum of Broadcast Communication Chicago Riverwalk Merchandise Mart Kinzie Bike Lane Chicago School of Psychology Chicago Sun Times Hispanic Housing Dev. Corp. Merchandise Mart The Wrigley Building University of Phoenix Illinois Institute of Art Argosy University Clinton Harold Washington College Clark/Lake 94 City of Chicago Ogilvie Willis Tower Maggie Daley Park Monroe Jackson Jackson Grant Park LaSalle/Van Buren Pritzker Park Van Buren St. Harold Washington Library Clinton Chicago Bus Terminal Buckingham Fountain Jones Prep HS Columbia College Chicago Harrison Spertus College LaSalle HARRISON LaSalle St. Chicago Chicago NEAR WEST SIDE Public Schools Noble Charter Muchin YCCS Charter Innovations Noble Charter Academy LAKE MICHIGAN Culture/Entertainment The Art Institute of Chicago Chicago Symphony Center American Academy of Art Pritzker Museum & Library The Art Institute of Chicago Jay Pritzker Pavilion Adams/Wabash Quincy Union Station Safer Foundation (CWF) Monroe LOOP Union Station Kent College of Law Harris Theater Millennium Park Washington Adler School of Psychology Chicago Mercantile Exchange Millennium Station Macy's Washington Washington/Wells Civic Opera House See Near West Side Northwestern University Chicago Holy Name Cathedral Jesse White Field House Universities Westwood College Notre Dame Exec. Business and Law DePaul University John Marshall Law School Roosevelt University Robert Morris University National Louis University The School of Art Institute East-West University Village Leadership Academy 90 Museum Campus Shedd Aquarium Target Whole Foods Roosevelt Roosevelt MICHIGAN CLARK LOWER WEST SIDE Soldier Field Daystar School 16TH Ping Tom Mem. Park Fieldhouse See Pilsen Little Village Glessner House Museum Clarke House Museum Chicago Perspectives Charter HS Women's Park Chinatown CERMAK Future Hotel ARMOUR SQUARE St. Therese Chinese School Sun-Yet-Sen Park 18th St. Future Lucas Museum DePaul Basketball Arena National Teachers ES Redmoon Theater Northerly Island 41 1ST Chinatown Coal for a Better Chin Am Comm Chinese American Srvc League Chinatown Square Chinatown Chamber of Commerce Midwest Asian Health Chinatown Gateway Nine Dragon Wall Adler Planetarium The Field Museum South Loop ES Arie Crown Theatre G NEAR SOUTH SIDE Chinese American Museum Haines ES Chinatown Graham ES Park 540 McCormick Place McCormick Place 55 DATE

13 CENTRAL PLANNING DISTRICT WARD/TIF/SSA MAP CHICAGO NEIGHBORHOODS 2015 CLARK STATE MICHIGAN COLUMBUS Near North 27th Ward 2nd Ward Chicago/Kingsbury Streeterville Chamber of Commerce Ohio/Wabash River West GRAND KINZIE River North Business Association 42nd Ward Kinzie Industrial Corridor West Central Business Association See Milwaukee Avenue West Loop Community Organization LaSalle Central Chicago Loop Alliance SSA# 1 LAKE SHORE DRIVE LAKE MICHIGAN Canal St/Congress Expy HARRISON See Near West Side Jefferson/Roosevelt ROOSEVELT 4th Ward River South 11th Ward Near South Roosevelt/Canal 25th Ward 3rd Ward Pilsen Industrial Corridor Archer Courts CERMAK Chicago Chinatown Chamber of Commerce Calumet/Cermak Rd Michigan/Cermak See Pilsen Little Village Near South Planning Board 24th/Michigan See Stockyards See Bronzeville/South Lakefront (NBDC) serves this district but main office may be located off the map *This planning area is located within the North Business & Industrial Corridor, the Local Economic & Employment Development Council, and the Eighteenth Street Development Corp. (LIRI) DATE